Sales forecasting

Forecasting is an important part of any revenue management strategy because it allows hotel managers to make vital decisions regarding pricing, promotion, and distribution, based on anticipated demand and performance.

Forecasting is the process of making predictions of the future based on past and present data and most commonly by analysis of trends. A commonplace example might be an estimation of some variable of interest at some specified future date.

Forecasting methods

Qualitative Methods

These are subjective and are based on the judgment and opinion of experts or consumers. We use them no past data is available. People use qualitative methods for making medium-to-long-range decisions. Market research is a type of qualitative forecasting method.

Quantitative Methods

With quantitative methods, we forecast future data as a function of past data. We generally use quantitative methods for making short-term and medium-term decisions.

Average Method

Forecasts of all future values equal the mean of the historical data. This method is appropriate for any type of data where past data is available.